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The Kalamazoo Literacy Council (KLC) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization committed to enhancing the lives of adults by improving their reading, writing, spelling and comprehension skills. The KLC was founded in 1974 and is the only organization in Kalamazoo County with the exclusive purpose of ...

Reading and writing are essential for everyday tasks such as taking medicine, paying bills, reading to a child, and filling out applications. Yet, more than 25,000 adults in Kalamazoo County would struggle to read this letter. The Kalamazoo Literacy Council (KLC) is asking you to help others move forward and empower themselves through literacy because Everyone Needs to Read.

Thanks to the dedication of more than 240 volunteers and the generosity of donors like you, the KLC is making a difference in the lives of adults and their families. In the past year, the KLC has helped 548 people improve their reading skills and supported 13 Community Literacy Centers to ensure literacy is within reach of all who want to learn. Many of these students started new jobs, improved their employment skills, and increased their involvement in their children’s education. Nearly all of them achieved a personal goal in their lives – from getting a drivers’ license, learning how to use a computer, obtaining citizenship, or sending an email for the first time.

In 2017, the KLC has a goal of recruiting 75 new tutors to join the 240 existing tutors who are teaching people to read. The KLC will also help 140 adults improve their language skills through the ESL of Southwest Michigan program. With your donation, more than 650 people will receive literacy services by December 2017.

We encourage you to consider making a gift to the 2017 Everyone Needs to Read Annual Campaign and join us on this journey to help increase access to quality literacy instruction for thousands of area families in the year ahead. Thank you for taking the time to consider our request.